Browsing by Author "Olaleye, J. I."

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF PSALM 23
    (Department of English, University of Ilorin, Ilorin., 2018) Olaleye, J. I.; Alabi, V. A.
    The philosophical foundation of pragmatics posits that both the intralinguistic and extralinguistic contexts cannot be trivialised in the exploration of meaning of texts. However, existing works from the perspective of pragmatics which explore how language is used to mean in Biblical texts are scanty. The purpose of this study therefore was to employ the Speech act theory proposed by Searle (1976) as well as aspects of Lawal (1997) and Bangura’s (2007) features of context like linguistic, cosmological, socio-cultural, situational and discourse deixis to discover how the writer of Psalm 23 used those aspects of pragmatics as meaning-inducing components. The analysis revealed that the writer performed especially Informative and Assertive acts to convince the audience, thereby creating plausibility for his claims and boasting. An exploration of cosmological context also revealed that he reflected Christian doctrinal positions about certain phenomena; situational-cum-socio-cultural context indicated he alluded to personal experiences in the historical background; and through discourse deixis, he alluded to events in other portions of the Scripture. Moreso, the writer exploited features of person deixis to identify and assign roles to discourse participants; while through linguistic context, elements such as modal verbs and sentence structures were used as pragmatic devices to accentuate meaning. On the basis of these discoveries, it was concluded that meanings of Biblical utterances are not locally absolute in the immediate linguistic contexts of the utterances but are also anchored to the inexhaustible contextual sources external to the utterances. Therefore, the significance of pragmatics to this study is that it provides effective mechanisms for unveiling how language is used to mean in Biblical texts.
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    A TRANSFORMATIONAL GENERATIVE APPROACH TO PASSIVISATION PROBLEMS EXHIBITED BY SELECTED STUDENTS OF POLYTECHNICS
    (Faculty of Languages and Communication Studies, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai., 2017) Olaleye, J. I.
    In this paper, the author reported an investigation into the difficulties encountered by some Nigerian polytechnic students in the construction of passive sentences. The researcher constructed twelve (12) questions which were administered to test the competence of one hundred respondentsrandomly selected from the four colleges of Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic (WUFED), Birnin Kebbi. The errors identified were analysed and classified using the Descriptive Method of error analysis within the frameworks of Chomsky's Transformational Generative Grammar (TGG). The study revealed that the respondents exhibited the following errors: random selection between the auxiliary verb "been" and "being", dropping of tense marker or using improper form of tense, omission of plural marker in the process of swooping of linguistic items, insertion of extraneous items, derivation of unrelated conversion, and wrong assignment of semantic interpretation to noun phrases contained in passive sentence. Stemming from these findings, the author calls the attention of stakeholders to curriculum design, production of language materials, and creation of teaching learning environment. Considering the fact that our respondents are users of English as a Second Language (ESL), it is believed that if attention is given such issues that are germane to the exhibition of relevant language skills, improvement in learners' performance would be remarkable.
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    Language Acquisition and Learning as Interactive Processes
    (The Nigeria English Studies Association (NESA, 2009) Olaleye, J. I.; Adegoke, C. F.
    In this paper, the authors reported an investigation of behaviour of selected Nigerian children with a view to identifying the linguistic elements in their performance. Using different theories of developmental psychology as a base, they observed the language acquisition and learning skills displayed by the respondents. The observations indicated several features of the children's language development behaviour at the phonological and syntactic levels and also showed that the environment and technological invention. had an impact on their linguistic behavior.
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    LEXICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN SELECTED POEMS OF REMI RAJI AND ADEMOLA DASYLVA
    (2017) Olaleye, J. I.; Alabi, V. A.
    The interest of linguists has been to understand the nature of language by exploring how linguistic resources are deployed to encode meanings in texts. However, one of the major challenges which make poetry a difficult text among literary genres is an inability to perceive the morphological devices contained in poems. This paper therefore is a stylistic analysis of how Remi Raji and Ademola Dasylva exploit their linguistic dexterity at morphological and lexical levels to invent lexical items which aptly capture their intended messages. To achieve this aim, the study attempts to: discover the morphological inventories deployed by the poets to generate new lexemes; examine how the newly generated lexemes are functionally used to contribute to the overall messages of their selected poems; and to identify the devices common to both poets and isolate those that uniquely give each poet an authorial fingerprint. The specific morphological innovations attestable in their works are done by means of lexical bisection, lexical coalescence, lexical metathesis and nonce formation. They employ the devices for meaning intensification. Also, while the devices of lexical coalescence and nonce formation are common to Raji and Dasylva, the devices of lexical bisection and lexical metathesis uniquely give them authorial fingerprints respectively. The study concludes that literary texts such as poetry, which seemingly appears impenetrable, can be easily accessible, if attention is given to the morphological inventiveness deployed by the poets.
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    MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF CHRISTIAN ADVERTISING DISCOURSE ON SELECTED SIGNBOARDS, BANNERS AND PAMPHLETS
    (2020) Olaleye, J. I.; Babatunde, S. T.
    The linguistic enquiry has been to explicate how linguistic resources are deployed to encode meaning in communicative texts. The Multimodal Discourse Theory, in particular, posits that messages in texts are configured through the selection of multiple modes. However, language research has focused more on speech texts, with little attention on the wealth of additional information inherent in other semiotic resources like gesture, colour, proxemics, visual and aural art, image, sound, music, etc. Therefore, this study aimed to employ the macro elements of this theory to analyse selected Christian advertising discourse on signboards, banners and pamphlets garnered from Facebook posts. To achieve this aim, the study attempted to: identify the modal resources contained in the selected data; explore the functionality of the semiotic resources; and investigate how the advertisers use visual modes such as pictures to enhance vivid representations of their messages. The analysis demonstrated that three modal resources (writing, visual and colour) were mostly utilised as multimodal ensembles by the advertisers. In terms of functionality, some modes were recontextualised to identify participants, phenomena and circumstances for the furtherance of the advertisers’ communicative needs and religious ideological perspectives. The analysis also reflected that visual modes such as pictures and colour realised part of the overall messages in the texts. The study concluded that within Christian community, advertisers share common values about modes with their audience and decide how the modes are mutually conceived; thereby, the recognition of such values is prerequisite for assigning correct interpretations to the texts. Key Words: semiotic resources, multimodal discourse analysis, ensembles, Christian advertising discourse
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    STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF OKINBA LAUNKO’S IRE AND TSHOTSHOLOZA FROM LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES
    (Published by the Department of Modern European Languages and Linguistics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto., 2015) Olaleye, J. I.
    In this article, linguistic techniques and methods were used for the stylistic analysis of Okinba Launko’s Ire and Tshotsholoza. The purpose of the study was to adopt lexical and grammatical Category aspects of stylistics for an objective analysis of the poems. At the lexical category, it was discovered that, motivated by stylistic factor, the poet employed special lexical items and incongruous lexical combination as meaning-inducing components for theme revelation. Also, the insertion of nativised lexical items was used as a means to celebrate, enshrine and connect the poems to their socio-cultural African root. In terms of the grammatical category, it was discovered that the poet assigned a degree of prominence to certain syntactic features of words and repressed some syntactic aspects in order to heighten meanings through the preferred features. Also, manipulation of sentence word-order was used to provide an effective way to describe the evoked events. The study also discovered that the choice of sentence moods was used to heighten communicative functions of sentences. All these features were found to be exciting, indicating that the poet was audience-conscious. By this stylistic analysis, it has been demonstrated that there is a distinction between language in poetic discourse and language in non-poetic discourse. The study concluded that the manipulation of words at lexical and grammatical category by the poet plays a very important role in meaning making.
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    SYNTACTIC CATEGORIES AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH LEXEMES USED AS CHRISTIAN NAMES IN NORTHERN NIGERIAN
    (The English Language Unit, University of Agriculture, Makurdi., 2019) Olaleye, J. I.; Dahunsi, T. N.
    Onomastics is a linguistic enquiry interested in the exploration of origin, linguistic forms and functionality of personal names. However, little attention has been given to the investigation of naming practices among Christians. This study therefore aims at applying the generativists’ notion of binary features and the concept of Semantic Prosody to investigate the syntactic and semantic properties of selected English lexemes used as Christian baby names in the Northern Nigeria. To achieve this aim, the study attempts to: classify the selected data into grammatical categories in order to discover the syntactic device used for naming system; explore the semantic prosodic features of the selected lexemes with a view to discovering the attitudinal factor underlying their choices; investigate how gender distinction is attached to common words; and, discover the lexical innovations in the selected words. The study demonstrated that the device of functional shift (word class conversion) was predominantly used for naming. Also, words with positive semantic prosodic feature were used to encode religious, cultural and philosophical thoughts of name-givers. It was discovered that both masculine and feminine gender qualities were attributed to neutral words. Also, abstract words were assigned human (concrete) referents. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that the English words used among the Northern Nigerian Christian naming system have been re-contextualised from common everyday words to proper names, thereby constituting a lexical set or special vocabulary of Christendom in Nigeria.
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    Syntactic Possibilities in Selected Children and Adults’ Choices of Negative Constructions in English Language Usage
    (Papers in English and Linguistics (PEL), 2020) Olaleye, J. I.; Abubakre, S. O.
    The Principles and Parameters theory of syntax as propounded by Chomsky (1981, 1995) postulates that, because children possess human genome, they are biologically en suite with a Universal grammar that contains the core principles of language. Thus, this study employed Prince and Smolensky's (1993) Optimality Theory of syntax to investigate the syntactic possibilities in selected children and adults' choices of negative constructions in English language usage. To achieve this aim, the study investigated if all optimality mechanisms (grammatical. morphological, lexical and analytical processes) for generating negative constructions were attestable in the constructions of the respondents; and isolated the optimality devices exploited mainly by the adults in order to discover the linguistic resources that are commonly used by both the children and the adults. The data used for the study was sourced from the set of tests designed to elicit negative responses from 20 respondents, who evenly consisted of 10 children and 10 adults. The results showed that the respondents exploited the grammatical, morphological, lexical and analytical processes as optimal outputs to produce negative constructions. The analysis also demonstrated that, while the adult respondents uniquely employed the analytical process, the children respondents exploited the grammatical process more than the adults. On the basis of these findings, the study concludes that, children's syntactic devices of generating negative utterances differ significantly from those used by adults.
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    THE RELEVANCE OF INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE IN ESL’S CONTEXT
    (Published by the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto., 2019) Olaleye, J. I.; Sajo, M. A; Jega, G. A.
    Literature is usually conceived to be one of the dreadful subjects to students. The approach to teaching the subject is one of the factors causing students’ aversion to the subject. This study therefore aims at investigating the approaches employed by teachers of literature in Nigerian context where English is used as a Second Language (ESL). To achieve this purpose, the study explores the various approaches employed by teachers teaching literature; finds out the teachers’ explanations for using the particular approach they used; and discovers the implications for using a particular model with a view to suggesting possible solutions. The study specifically covers10 selected Secondary Schools within Birnin-Kebbi metropolis. The investigation involved the use of questionnaire and oral interview. The findings reveal the following: the Cultural Model Approach is commonly employed by teachers, followed by the Language-Model Approach and the Personal Growth Model Approach; teachers explain they take recourse to the Cultural Model Approach because of their students’ inability to exhibit relevant language skills in English; and the effect of using the Cultural Model Approach above all is that the general aims of teaching literature will not be attainable. We therefore conclude that the use of integrative approach which takes cognizance of the general aims of literature should be adopted by teachers.